‘ZOMBIELAND’ Review
ZOMBIELAND delivers all of the laughs and thrills we've come to love from a ZomCom, with a little something extra underneath the rotten, decaying flesh of its true stars -- the hoardes of screaming, blood-thirsty zombies that now inhabit these post-apocalyptic United States of America.
Columbus (played by the ever-understated Jesse Eisenberg), armed only with an exhaustive list of self-imposed rules and a double-barrel shotgun, managed to survive a supervirus that plagued the country and turned nearly all of its human populace into the aforementioned living dead. Holding out hope that his family survived back in Columbus, OH (hence the nickname), he sets out on a lonely trek across the country despite the obvious dangers that are sure to befall him.
Along the way, Columbus teams up with the bat-shit-crazy Tallahassee (a terrific Woody Harrelson). The two find themselves conned out of their vehicle and weapons upon every chance encounter with a pair of smooth-talking ladies: Wichita (the could-kill-a-zombie-with-her-looks-alone Emma Stone) and her younger sister Little Rock (a grown-up Abigail Breslin of Little Miss Sunshine fame). The unlikely bunch, each desperate for a small taste of the pre-apocalypse lives they remember, join forces and head for an amusement park in L.A.
ZOMBIELAND offers more than just the hilarious aesthetic of zombie-killing mayhem (although there is plenty to be found). It's more about the journeys that bring people together than it is about the terrors of survival in a virus-ridden country. The affliction of zombiism serves as a metaphor for an impersonal world, driven only by immediate compulsions to devastating ends in the absence of a social connection to the people around us. Each character's journey is significant and relatable, but Director Ruben Fleischer will never leave you without a laugh.
This is Fleischer's feature film directorial début. The ridiculously witty script was penned by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. ZOMBIELAND opens in theaters on October 2nd. Come October, you better nut up or shut up and get your ass in gear to see this film!
By the way, you won't want to miss a very special, very hilarious guest performance in the film. And stay through the credits if you like bonus tidbits!
My Rating: 
